India's benchmark Nifty 50 index is set to open lower on Wednesday, tracking Asian peers after China's quarterly growth missed expectations, while HDFC Bank will be in focus after it posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit.
India's GIFT Nifty was trading at 21,826.50 as of 8:11 a.m. IST, suggesting the NSE Nifty 50 will open below its Tuesday close of 22,032.30.
Asian markets were lower, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index shedding 1.3% after China's economic growth in December quarter missed expectations.
Wall Street equities also closed lower overnight after a key Federal Reserve official said that the U.S. central bank should not rush to lower rates, dampening expectations of early rate cuts.
Indian shares declined on Tuesday, dragged by a pullback in information technology stocks after a recent rally.
Shares of top private lender and the heaviest weighted stock in Nifty 50 index - HDFC Bank will be in focus after reporting a bigger-than-expected profit for the third quarter, post market hours on Tuesday.
The American-listed shares of the bank fell 6.71% overnight.
Investors also await the results of Nifty 50 companies like Asian Paints and LTIMindtree, due on Wednesday.
Foreign institutional investors bought Indian shares worth a net 6.57 billion rupees ($79.09 million) on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth 3.69 billion rupees.
STOCKS TO WATCH
L&T Technology Services: IT company retained its revenue growth forecast for fiscal 2024 after reporting rise in net profit and revenue in third quarter.
ICICI Securities: Company posted rise in consolidated net profit in September quarter.
PNC Infratech: Company received letter of award for a Madhya Pradesh construction project, worth 11.74 billion rupees.
Network18 Media & Investments: Company reported widening of consolidated net loss in December quarter.